This is Texas Pepper Jelly’s newest product, Texas Rib Candy, and it’s so good it’s almost impossible to describe.

It goes with almost everything. Anything and everything. Brush it on chicken or ribs, right before you take them up on a platter and serve them, or at any time during the grilling process. Use it with stir-fry. Use it as a dip. Use it in your crockpot.

It’s excellent as a salad dressing, too.

Texas Rib Candy comes in three flavors: Apple Habanero, Apple Cherry Habanero and Mango Habanero. The possibilities are endless!

The only problem I’ve ever had with Texas Rib Candy is that my husband doesn’t want to share it with anyone. I always have to search for it behind something else in the refrigerator.

Seriously, Texas Rib Candy is like an addictive drug. Once you try it, you can’t ever get enough of it.

P.S. As I write this post, my husband is sitting at the table dipping raw vegetables in Texas Rib Candy. He says it’s awesome.

I can’t take his word for it, though. I MUST try it for myself.

Mmmmmmm. . . . . he’s right.

There are many variations of this Cool & Spicy Summer Salad, and each one is as delicious and easy as the one before.

This is one of those salads that’s even better the next day.

Ingredients:

1 package bow-tie pasta, cooked and cooled

1/2 cup crumbled Feta cheese

1 cup fresh raspberries

1 cup Raspberry Habanero pepper jelly

What to do:

Mix all the ingredients into the pasta.  Sprinkle a few raspberries on top, cover securely and put in the refrigerator.  It’s delicious now and will be even better in a few hours!

We consider this to be a main dish on those stiflingly hot summer nights.  It’s also a great snack, a super side dish, and a really, really excellent supper for guests.

More variations to come.

Also to come?  Texas Rib Candy news.  There’s a reason it’s called Rib CANDY.

Oh my gosh, look what we’re having for supper tomorrow night!  My family is going to LOVE this!

Our newest product, Texas Rib Candy, is the star of Texas Rib Candy Tacos, naturally.  Rib Candy is well-named, too; it’s so awesomely good, you might find yourself spilling a little on purpose just so you can spoon it up, plain!

This particular recipe uses Apple Cherry Habanero Rib Candy, and these tacos are so fantastic they’re almost dessert!  These are also the perfect summer taco, because they’re best served cold.

Main Ingredients:

juice of one medium lemon

1 teaspon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon salt (do not leave out!)

2 cups shredded cooked chicken, dark or light (your preference rules here)

6 tortillas or taco shells, soft or hard

1 large apple, diced

1/2 cup cherries, pitted and diced

Apple/cherry salad, see recipe below

2/3 cup Texas Apple Cherry Rib Candy

cilantro leaves (leave this step out if your family doesn’t like cilantro)

Ingredients for apple/cherry salad:

1 medium apple, diced

1/2 cup cherries, pitted and diced

juice of 1/2 lemon

dash garlic

1 cup shredded lettuce

What to do:

Mix all of the main ingredients (except the shells) together and let them “set.”

Make a small buffet out of Texas Rib Candy Tacos by putting the main ingredients on a nice platter, and set the salad on another.  Don’t waste your time putting the rest of the Texas Rib Candy in the refrigerator; people will want more than they’ll get in the recipe itself.  In fact, I wouldn’t count on having any Texas Rib Candy left over at all.  Next time you order some, you’d better order several.  Seriously. It’s that awesome.

You might wonder, looking over this recipe before you begin, why there is so much apple and cherry in it.  After your crew tears into it, though, you won’t wonder any more.  You’ll know.

P.S.  Use fresh cherries.  DO NOT used maraschino cherries!

P.P.S.  Some people keep the shredded lettuce separate from the rest of the ingredients.  Do this however you wish; Texas Rib Candy Tacos are yummy good no matter what your method of serving preference might be!

It’s Fourth of July Weekend, and that means cookouts, picnics, and reunions galore!  And what is any of those things without a big bowl of cold potato salad?

That’s why I’m posting our fantabulous potato salad recipe again.  People ask me for it all the time, ever since I first posted it here, and I usually just send them the link or the recipe via email.

However, since everybody will be wanted potato salad this weekend, here’s our Texas Pepper Jelly potato salad recipe, in its entirety.  Enjoy, y’all.

Ingredients:

Ten large potatoes: peeled, cubed, and boiled.  Drain and set aside. (I don’t peel them any more, if I use red potatoes.) (Let them cool before you start mixing things into them)

Eight large dill pickles.  Chop LARGE and set aside.

One large onion.  Chop finely and set aside.

One green pepper.  Chop LARGE and set aside.

Two boiled eggs.  Peel and chop and set aside.

One small jar of red pimento.  Open and drain.

3/4 cup of Miracle Whip.

One tablespoon cheap yellow mustard.

1/3 cup of Pineapple Habanero Pepper Jelly

Tiny dash of salt, if you must.

What to do:

Now, dump the drained potatoes into a large bowl, and throw everything else in there with them.  Mix thoroughly but carefully, so you don’t mash the potatoes.  Cover the bowl tightly, and put it in the refrigerator.  Potato salad is best cold, you know.

We’re having all the family here on the Fourth, and we’re grilling out, naturally.  I’ll be making Spicy Potato Salad tomorrow night AFTER everybody goes to bed.  If I make it too soon, there’s none left for the actual meal.

We do what we gotta do.

(Don’t forget to watch this space for our new product’s official debut!  It’s awesome, and you’ll love it.  That’s all I’m sayin’ right now.)

There are many variations to this fantastic and versatile summer pasta salad, but this is the one we’re having for lunch tomorrow:

Ingredients:

1 box bow-tie pasta

1 cup feta cheese

2/3 cup Texas Pineapple Habanero pepper jelly  (more if you like it “goopy,” less if you don’t)

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup shredded pineapple

1/2 cup shredded cooked chicken (if desired; it’s great without any meat, too)

What to do:

Boil the pasta according to the directions on the box.  Drain.

When the pasta has cooled, add all the other ingredients and toss lightly until pasta is coated and other ingredients are evenly distributed.  Don’t mix too roughly or you’ll tear the bow-ties.  (Don’t try to mix this pasta salad while the bow-ties are hot; you’ll melt the pepper jelly!)

Pasta salad is great served immediately, but my family likes it better after it’s been refrigerated for several hours.

Spicy Summer Pasta Salad is a great summer meal all by itself, but it’s also an excellent side dish.  We’re having it tomorrow with corn on the cob.  That’s a lot of starch, I suppose, but hey, it’s summer.  They’ll run it off.

(Sometimes I add some diced green pepper, if I have a green pepper.  This time I didn’t have one.)

I’m picking my daughter up at the airport tonight, and fortunately she e-mailed the times and directions to me earlier today.

She ended her e-mail with a dinner request:  she doesn’t want to be taken out to eat in a restaurant; she comes to come home and chow down on Texas Calico Salad.

Her wish is my command.  Here’s how to make it:

Ingredients:

1 can French cut green beans

1 can shoepeg corn

1 bag frozen peas

1 can red pimento strips

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup shredded pineapple

1 small flat jar of water chestnuts

1/4 cup of pecan pieces (optional) (but we like them in there)  (Your call)

1 5-ounce jar of Texas Pineapple Habanero pepper jelly

What to do:

This is the hard part:  Mix all the vegetables and fruit together in a large bowl.  Pour the Pineapple Habanero pepper jelly in the bowl and mix thoroughly.

Heh.  That’s not really very hard, is it.  Gotcha.

Eat up.

Your kids will be requesting this awesome summerish salad, too.

(It’s best made right before it’s served.  It’s still awesome next day, but the consistency is a little different after a night in the refrigerator.)

Note:  Calico is an inexpensive fabric often used by pioneers back in the day.  It was usually multicolored.  This salad is inexpensive and multicolored, hence the name.

In case you wondered.

Spicy Rice Pilaf is delicious any time and any season, but my family likes it best when the weather turns warm.  This dish is good all by itself, or as an accompaniment to fish or pork.  Beef, too, but we don’t eat all that much beef in my family.  When the summer’s tomatoes are at their peak, my husband will cover his plate with tomato slices and spoon the pilaf over them all.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup dry lentils, rinsed well

1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and well-drained

1 cup Texas Habanero Salsa

1 cup uncooked rice (I always use brown rice, but long grain works well, too)

1 cup frozen yellow corn

1 jar (2 ounces) diced pimentos, well-drained

1 teaspoon chili powder

What to do:

In a saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion in the oil until tender.  Add the broth and the lentils; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes.  Stir in all the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for about 25 minutes or until the rice is tender.

Serve hot or cold, depending on the weather and your family’s preferences.  Make Spicy Rice Pilaf several times so your family can decide what their preferences are. 

On a hot evening, I like Spicy Rice Pilaf and a piece of cornbread for supper.

Slaw is a great salad/side dish any time of the year, but there’s just something about a nice cold slaw on a hot day that’s irresistible.  Cole slaw is always yummy, of course, but Zesty Apple Vegetable Slaw is just different enough to be in a category by itself.

Your family will like Zesty Vegetable Slaw because it’s oh-so-yummy, and YOU will like it for that same reason and also because this slaw is extremely nutritious.

EXTREMELY nutritious, in fact.

When all of these ingredients are fresh and in season, this slaw is even better.  It’s still good off-season, with store-bought produce, though.

Ingredients:

3 cups finely shredded cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

1/2 cup shredded onion

1/2 cup shredded green pepper

1/2 cup shredded red pepper

1/2 cup shredded celery

1/2 cup shredded apple (peeled)

3/4 cup Texas Apple Jalapeno or Apple Habanero pepper jelly

What to do:

Put all the ingredients in a large bowl and toss until thoroughly mixed.  Chill before serving.

I like to make this the day before so the flavors can get acquainted.

My family LOVES this slaw.  Tim likes to use it as a dip, even.

Oh my gosh, these are SO GOOD!

Ingredients:

5 tart apples (I use Granny Smith apples.)

1/4 cup cinnamon red-hot candies

One 16-oz jar Apple Cinnamon Grilling & Finishing Sauce

What to do:

Wash, pare, and core apples. In a fairly deep saucepan, mix together the red-hots and Apple Cinnamon Grilling & Finishing Sauce. Place apples in this mixture and cook gently for about 20 minutes, until just barely tender.  Turn the apples frequently so all sides become “colored.”  If your sauce thickens too much, add a little water.

Lift apples out of saucepan and arrange in a shallow bowl (not a plate or tray!)  Pour the saucepan mixture over the apples, making sure to fill in the cores.  Serve with chopped pecans, raisins, or anything else your family might like to add to the syrupy apple cores.

We fall on this bowl of apples like vultures, and it’s dessert.  (You’ll need a knife and fork unless you have a drawer full of lobster bibs.)  However, I know for a fact that some people use this very same recipe and then serve the apples on a lettuce leaf and call it either a salad or a side dish.  Me, I don’t care.  Sometimes I stir this up in the middle of the night and we watch movies, as a family, and lick the sticky off our fingers in the dark.

P.S.  You can also slice the peeled apples and, using these same ingredients, sort of “stir-fry” the slices instead of cooking them whole.  Tastes the same, just looks different.

Texas slaw is unlike any slaw you’ve ever had.

It’s so good, your family will ask for it daily.  Mine does.

It’s also inexpensive to make and very nutritious.

It goes well with almost any kind of supper, and is practically a meal in and of itself!

Ingredients:

1 head cabbage

1 large onion

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

2 large carrots

1/2 cup vinegar

1 stalk celery

1 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar (I use Splenda)

2/3 cup Texas Pineapple Habanero Pepper Jelly

What to do:

Shred the vegetables (It’s easier if they’re cold.  NOT frozen, just cold.)

In a large bowl, mix the shredded veggies with everything else.  Toss lightly but thoroughly.

Refrigerate for about two hours before serving.

Don’t plan on any leftovers.